Lottie looks exasperated. “I’m sorry. I don’t know, I’m just trying to figure it out, Stevie. Don’t make me feel guilty.”

“Sorry, sorry. For sure. So … what happens now? What does this mean?”

“I have no idea. She says that this is how she’s felt her whole life, and that it was killing her. Like, literally, she said. Killing her.” She blinks, and I see that she’s holding back tears. “So, there’s that. Hooray. Get out your rainbow flags, everyone. I’m going to have two dads.”

I reach over and give her a hug, as much for me as for her. I don’t know if this is bad news or good news or what. I don’t know anything, not anymore. I am certain we need each other. She accepts it but pulls away and wipes her face.

“Does anyone else know?” I ask.

“Paige does,” she says, then adds, “She just happened to be here and I told her. Please don’t be jealous, Stevie.” She looks tired and irritated.

“What? I’m not jealous,” I scoff. Totally jealous. And feeling stupid.

She stretches her legs out straight and then sags in the chair. “Okay. Anyway, she said that I should turn my life into a documentary. Like, my life is literally like a movie.”

“Yeah …” That knot in my gut turns over into itself and becomes the mother of super knots, like the kind you get in necklaces that seem impossible to untangle. She told Paige before me. I look out at the lawn, at the purple sand cherry tree we used to climb as kids and named Martha. I think about Rhonda and how much I love her.

“Maybe … It is kind of cool,” I murmur.

“Cool?” Lottie looks at me in disbelief.

“Yeah, I mean …”

“It’s ‘cool’ that my mom is going to go from Rhonda to Pete?”

“Pete?”

“Yes. Pete. Fucking Pete. Stupid fucking magic dragon name.”

“I think the kid was Pete, actually. Or do you mean Puff?” She glares at me, and I shut up for a second. I let it sink in. “Pete …” I say again. It’s growing on me already, Rhonda as Pete. I look back at Lottie, who is staring hard at me, and I remember myself. “I’m sorry, Lottie; I’m sure this is really hard on you guys.” I give her hand a squeeze.